Simon Mignolet has admitted he was in a very ‘bad moment’ after being dropped by Liverpool. The Belgian joined the Reds in a £9m deal from Sunderland in the summer of 2013, and made 204 appearances during six years with the club.

However, he found his place under threat after Jurgen Klopp signed Loris Karius in a £4.7m deal from Mainz in the summer of 2016. The pair initially wrestled first-choice duties back and forth off each other, only for the Liverpool manager to declare his compatriot as number one rather than the Belgian midway through the 2017/18 season.

And the decision would ultimately cost the Reds dear at the end of the campaign when Karius made two mistakes in the Champions League as Liverpool lost 3-1 to Real Madrid in Kiev.

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Mignolet still does not agree with Klopp, admitting he believes himself to be a better goalkeeper than Karius. And the German’s decision stung the Belgian that little bit more, having coincided with the £75m club-record signing of Virgil van Dijk from Southampton the same month he was dropped.

“I had a good relationship with him (Klopp),” he recalled on Ben Foster’s Fozcast. “In the mid-season we went on to sign Loris Karius. It’s only normal for a club like Liverpool that you have two good goalkeepers challenging for the number one spot and that was the case that season.

“What didn’t make it easy because it was game in, game out. Turns and twists constantly between me and Loris. It didn’t settle the position.

“And then around winter time (2017/18), Jurgen decided to put Loris in as number one. That for me was a really bad moment because it was not only the decision that was made to play Loris, it was also the moment when Virgil van Dijk came in to sign as a centre-back.

“We all know what a monster Virgil is and how good he is as a football player. And having to have someone like him, and at that time Joel Matip, to be playing centre-half, it would have meant a lot of a big difference for me also, when he would have played in front of me.

“But okay, the manager needs to make a decision and he chose Loris. For me then, that was difficult to take but okay, that’s what football is about. I also learned from it.

“It’s normal because Liverpool needs two good goalkeepers and you can compete with him. I had the chance, or I had the feeling, that I was competing with him.

“And I think, looking back to it now and also how I see my career evolving, and what I did after that, I probably am the better goalkeeper than Loris.

“Now, it’s not up to me to decide that, and especially not at that moment in time, but I think time told that I was able to be competing with him.”

Following Karius’ errors, Liverpool signed Alisson Becker from AS Roma in a £65m deal, with Mignolet having no complaints about being behind the Brazilian in the pecking order.

“The season afterwards, after the Champions League final, Alisson got signed,” he said. “Ali is an unbelievable goalkeeper. It was a pleasure to be able to work with him and to see his qualities.

“Afterwards when Ali got signed for 60, 70 odd million from Roma, then I’m honest enough and smart enough to know that he’s the better goalkeeper and it was very difficult to compete with him.

“And I was actually happy to be able to sit on the bench for such a big club behind him and to be able to go to the Champions League final and to win that final.

“You learn a lot from him, in training and being able to work with him. You can see, you can learn with your eyes, that was not an issue.

“I was never going to be a 60, 70 odd million goalkeeper and not a Brazilian like he is. So, you accept it then and that’s not an issue at all.”

He continued: “He’s really explosive, it’s unbelievable what a jump he has and how strong he is. His reflexes of course and you can see that in his shot-stopping.

“But because he’s so explosive, it’s his shot-stopping and then being able to jump so quickly. And secondly, he’s Brazilian, so he doesn’t give a f**k, to say it that way!

“So, with his feet he takes a risk and it doesn’t matter and also mentally, he doesn’t care. You see that also with Ederson.

“Now for me, I’m a different kind of guy and I think three or four times about certain things in life. They are not like this in their lives. And that’s probably a good thing, especially when you play for a big club like Liverpool.

“You just don’t think about anything. If it goes good, it goes well. If it goes bad then okay, it is like this. If you are standing like this in life, it’s a lot easier, especially at this kind of club.

“Also, he was already from Brazil playing in Italy. He already had some experience and when you get signed for 60, 70 odd million, you also have a good armour.

“It’s a different scenario than when you sign from Sunderland for Liverpool and everybody puts a question mark behind your name than when you come from AS Roma for 60, 70 odd million. You’re in a good position, let’s say it that way.”